salute [h.s]

the one with the helicopter ride (niall/marlow)

things you said when we were on top of the world

"Niall, if you kill me, I swear to god I will kill you."

Niall snickered as Marlow's voice echoed in his ears, audible over the loud swoosh of the rotors because of the headset he was wearing. He gave her a sideways look, a wide toothy grin stretching across his face, but it fell into a pout when Marlow smacked him hard on the arm. "Ow."

"Watch what you're doing!" she screeched, her hands grasping the edge of her chair in a death grip so hard that her fingers were turning white. "Are you sure you know how to fly this thing?"

"We're fine," Niall said with a laugh that Marlow didn't echo. Her eyes narrowed in his direction, especially when she saw the lazy grin on his face. "Trust me. I'm a great pilot and helicopters happen to be me specialty. This is going to be fun."

Marlow looked out the front windshield at the large expanse of grass all around them on the airfield and swallowed hard. Niall could tell by the straight set of her jaw that she was only just barely keeping it together. "If I puke, it's not my fault," she kindly informed him as he flicked switches on the dash to get them going. An alarm sounded over the headset, a completely normal part of take-off, but it set Marlow on edge and she whimpered loud enough that it echoed through her microphone. "Oh God, we're going to die."

"We're not going to die," Niall insisted as he opened the throttle, pulling up on the collective slowly to pull the helicopter upward. He eased the big vehicle off the ground slowly so as not to startle his date who looked like she was regretting ever agreeing to this in the first place. "Just, close your eyes and I'll tell you when we're up in the sky so you can look."

Marlow snapped her eyes shut straight away, her hands tightening on the edges of the seat. The helicopter rocked gently as it became airborne and she let out little yelps every time she was jostled in her seat.

Niall focused on getting them up into the air, relying on muscle memory to control the collective and the cyclic as he kept an eye on the skies around them and on the dash controls. It was easy to get back into the groove of flying a helicopter even though it had been a while and the more comfortable he got, the more fun he started to have.

When he'd been retired from active duty, he'd been a little listless until an old mate had suggested Search & Rescue. With his combat medic training, Niall could act as a first responder out in the field, working in an environment similar to the war zones he was used to without the same degree of risk. He'd grown to really love his job and one of the perks that had come with it had been helicopter pilot training for the situations where he was working on the air ambulance.

He quite liked flying, the freedom that came with it when you were all alone up in the open skies, the world stretched out before you like a little miniature. It was one of the greatest feelings in the world in his opinion so when Marlow had said that she was feeling really down and she needed something to spice up her life a bit, it had been the first thing that came to mind.

Maybe she wasn't quite ready for this much spice judging by the way she was grasping onto her seat for dear life. She'd said she was okay with heights and flying but Niall doubted she'd been anticipating a date like this. He hoped he hadn't made a mistake taking her out here.

He glanced over and frowned when he saw how white her face was. He shot his eyes down to her chest and watched, waiting for the familiar rise and fall that never came. "Marlow," he said sharply to get her attention. She just shook her head, refusing to open her eyes. "Marlow, a stór, look at me."

The Gaelic was sort of their thing, the little trick Niall used when he was trying to calm her down or comfort her. He was pretty sure she had no idea what it meant, how intimate it really was, but just the sound of it seemed to soothe her. Even now, it forced her eyes open, pulling her gaze over to Niall.

"Breathe, Lo," he instructed calmly. She looked at him for a long moment before finally releasing the air in her lungs, sucking in a gasping breath as her chest rose and fell rapidly to try and compensate. "I promise you're safe, okay?"

She nodded vigorously, focusing on doing her deep breathing. It only took a moment or so for her to sort herself out and get back under control. "You doing okay?" Niall asked her.

"Yeah," she breathed out, her cheeks flushing. "Sorry about that. Dios mío, that's embarrassing."

"Nah, you're alright," Niall brushed off before nodding his head in the direction of the windshield. "Go on then. Take a look."

Marlow took one last breath before turning back to face the front, looking out on the wide expanse in front of them. Niall had taken her to one of his favourite places to fly, over the cliffs of Dover facing the wide Channel. The sun was out today and the views were astounding, the water sparkling blue beneath them and the light reflecting off the white rock of the cliffs. Niall grinned when he heard Marlow's gasp over his headset.

"It's so beautiful." Niall glanced over at Marlow's face, spread wide in a smile, her eyes bright as she took in her surroundings. "Oh, Niall, this is wonderful."

"Thought you'd like it."

"I feel like we're on top of the world."

Niall laughed brightly at that, at the fact that she'd pinpointed exactly what he loved about coming out here. The cliffs had always felt like the edge of the world to him and looking at them from above made him feel like was hovering high above the earth even though it wasn't that high at all. The visual effect was like nothing else out there and the elation that came with it could make even the darkest of days seem brighter.

"I thought it might cheer you up," he told her, giving her a smile before focusing on flying the helicopter farther inland so they were soaring over lush fields and countryside. Marlow's laughter in his ear was the greatest sound in the world.

"No one's ever done something like this for me before."

Her voice was surprisingly quiet and Niall spared a fleeting glance in her direction. Her grin had been replaced by a much more thoughtful expression. "What? Taken you on a helicopter ride?"

"No," she said with a shake of her head, turning her gaze his direction. "Done something so thoughtful. I - I really needed this. And you sensed that and you knew what to do to cheer me up and I've never had a boyfriend who was like that, who could read me so well. It's just -" she seemed to realize what she was saying and brushed it off with a chuckle and a shrug. "Never mind."

"Hey, you can tell me anything, Lo. Okay?"

She nodded, swallowing hard and then forcing a smile onto her face. "Yeah, just, um, thanks. Thank you for this."

"Any time," Niall assured her with a gentle grin.

"You're one of a kind, Niall Horan."

He was surprised by the effect those words had on him, making his stomach feel all squiggly and weird (Piper would call it butterflies; Louis would call it indigestion). He had this rush of elation that was so unfamiliar to him. He didn't get like this with girls, all nervous and sweaty and awkward. But then again, Marlow wasn't just any girl.

No, Marlow Reyes was something else. And Niall was determined to hang onto her as long as he could.

"Want to see what London looks like from up here?" he asked her. She'd been looking out the side window but she looked back at him when he spoke to her, the grin on her face so wide it was breathtaking, absolutely and utterly stunning. Niall nearly dropped the helicopter down when his hand loosened on the collective. He hurried to correct his mistake before Marlow could notice but judging by the amused glint in her eye, she'd caught it.

"Show me the world, mi querido."

Niall was determined to do just that. He hoped he had a lifetime to do it.